Turkey spent 2 billion dollars to support Syrian refugees, says PM

Turkey has spent $2 billion for the maintenance of Syrian refugees living in the country, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

Erdogan said Turkey has received only $135 million of international aid for the refugees. The rest has been funded by the state treasury.

Clashes between the government forces and armed opposition have been continuing in Syria for over two years. According to UN statistics, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria is more than 110,000 people. Around three million need humanitarian aid. The Syrian authorities say that they are opposed by well-armed militants.